September 15, 2004

• Third Party Support

  One one of the politics lists I subscribe to, it was asked:
  

  Someone please tell me, especially in light of the list below [list of Nader 2000 supporters who currently support Kerry], how anyone can justify their support of Nader in these times and how Ralph himself can accept Republican support for signatures putting him on the ballot. Now he’s on Minnesota’s. This is rapidly becoming unforgivable.

  To ask a question back:

  If I were to vote for Kerry this time around, will you let me know when we have a presidential election that isn’t important so I can vote for someone I’d like to actually see in office?

  I have not decided between Nader, Badnarik, and possibly Kerry yet, but to answer your question:

  My concerns regarding American economic and military foreign policy, my concerns regarding large corporate influence in government, and my concerns regarding marginalization of progressive viewpoints as well as classically conservative viewpoints are greater than my concerns regarding abortion, marriage, social security, and even health care. (Although, health care is starting to creep up there)

  Democrats maintained sanctions in Iraq and bombed it several times a week. Republicans invaded it (twice). Both situations sucked if you happened to be an Iraqi.

  Democrats set up barbed wire “free speech zones” to keep dissenting voices contained. Republicans do the same general thing, although seldom quite as draconian as at the DNC.

  Democrats supply Israel with weapons and money and block the rest of the UN when they would ask Israel to curb her transgressions. So do Republicans.

  Democrats support the WTO, NAFTA, and free trade. So do Republicans.

  Democrats are chummy-chummy with big business. So are Republicans. (Although the parties do sometimes choose different businesses and industries to align themselves with)

  Democrats support the “War on Drugs”. So do Republicans.

  Democrats support the “War on Terror”. So do Republicans.

  Democrats enabled corporate media consolidation. So did Republicans.

  Both oppose IRV. Both have no interest in seeing new parties emerge on the field.

  So what are their differences?

  In general, the Democrats aren’t quite as straight forward about telling the UN to go screw itself.

  Democrats want to prop up an increasingly failing public education system. Republicans want to gut it and leave its rotting remains in place for those who don’t have the money to afford better.

  Democrats want to keep our current social security program. Republicans want to privatize it.

  Democrats will oppose anything that appears to suggest that an unborn child might be a human being with rights. Republicans will oppose anything that gives a pregnant woman the ability to end her pregnancy. Thankfully, they do end up having to compromise with each other on these.

  Democrats are afraid of people owning guns. Republicans aren’t.

  Democrats want a public health care system. Republicans seem split on it. Neither seem to have a good idea of what to do regarding rationing or what to do about the fact that some people make unhealthy lifestyle choices.

  Republicans want to lock anyone who breaks the law away in prison. Democrats seem to think that if we give everyone access to jobs and education, no one will break the law except for those who really need to be in prison anyway.

  Republicans don’t want to think about gays. Neither do Democrats, really.

  The Republicans historically crush radical and progressive groups. The Democrats historically absorb them, subvert them, and leave them in a dark corner to whither and die.

  Democrats want to slow down the environmental degradation a bit more than the Republicans do, but neither wants to do it at any significant expense to business.

  Democrats seem to want to be my mother. Republicans seem to want to be my father.

  Yes, I think some of the things where they differ are important, but I think the areas where they are substantively the same are more important. I think that dealing with our issues regarding corporate influence, foreign policy, media, etc., will put us in a far better position to deal with the points where they differ.

  In any case, in many of the points on which they differ, I believe we need a different approach than the main bodies of either party support.

  If I vote for Kerry, and right now that is a really big IF, it is for two reasons and two reasons only:

  First, I do think he would make better Supreme Court Justice appointments than Bush.

  Second, I may vote for Kerry to weaken neo-conservative influence over the White House in order to let people in the rest of the world – people whose lives we have immense effect on, even though they have no vote on the subject – know that not everyone in America supports the “Project for the New American Century”.

  It will not be because he is a Democrat. It will not be because I agree with him, or support him, or support his party. The Democratic Party may have done some pretty good things in the ’60s and ’70s, but I haven’t seen much to be impressed about since I’ve reached voting age.

  Unfortunately, I believe that the mainstream Democratic party more or less supports the visions of the Project for the New American Century. The main difference seems like they would just like to be a bit less aggressive about achieving them.

  • 3:13 pm
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